Roast Potato And Spring Onion Tartlets / Spinach And Walnut Salad With Orange Vinaigrette

On turning 95, one of India's most prolific writers and journalists, Khushwant Singh wrote on happiness and what one has to do in order to achieve it. As expected of anyone who reaches that age he had something substantial to say on the topic. And besides, his irreverence and honesty made it a refreshing read in today's politically correct world.

That article I talk about was a while back and among all the maxims that he had written, many of which one had read or heard elsewhere in some form or substance, one of them stayed with me. It said, "Plant your own trees and flowers, see them grow and blossom, and cultivate a sense of kinship with them."

I would be reminded of his words when I read Timothy Egan's article, "The Eight-Second Attention Span" in the New York Times. He writes how in the age of the ubiquitous smart phone and our need to always be connected and for instant validation, our attention span has been the biggest victim. And no amount of digital detox will help. What will help is to consciously engage and make time for activities on a daily basis that will work as an antidote to what he calls our 'shrinking attention span'. He recommends deep reading and gardening. He reckons there is no instant gratification in gardening. Sow the seeds and nature forces you to wait while it takes its course and decides whether to reward you or not for your efforts.

I don't know about you but I am some time away from owning my own piece of land or home where my gardening aspirations can come to fruition. So, instead I improvised this winter and grew my own herbs in little pots. We grew coriander, celery, mint, spinach, methi (fenugreek), rosemary and thyme. 

The celery, mint and spinach were outright successes. The coriander and fenugreek did well but somewhere along the line, the lack of experience showed up and both the plants got a bit messy and we reasoned that it was better buying them from the market where they are fresh and easily available. As for the thyme and rosemary, it was as if we hadn't even planted them. Not even a teeny  green shoot to boot!!

And I'll admit, the whole process was not only gratifying but it brought along a certain childlike fascination and excitement with it. Try it, and see how many times you check on those little pots looking for some sign of life and growth. In its own way, it creates an empathy and understanding about the entire food cycle and the challenges it faces. And see if you can resist showing off your homegrown produce at every instance! 

Fresh herbs are best used to enhance the flavour profile of any dish but when it comes to spinach and fenugreek, they are best made the hero of the dish. So, for a meal over the weekend, I made a spinach and walnut salad that I paired with some roast potato and spring onion tartlets.

The tartlets are from my all-time favourite 'Popina Book of Baking' to which I added some chopped celery for added flavour. While I adore roast potatoes, I did find them a bit too starchy and creamy in these tartlets. I recommend and would do so the next time I make them, to replace the roast potatoes with either some roast chicken or even mushrooms.

Luckily, in this case, the spinach salad came to the rescue. Tossed with the walnuts in the orange-honey vinaigrette, it cut all through all that creaminess. It was light, fresh and zesty and lightened up the palate. And the walnuts are always a welcome textural and nutty contast.

And to end it all, we had strawberries and cream. I am not a huge fan of cream but then the other day, I whipped up some cream with a wee bit of orange liqueur and I think I might have created a monster. Because from now on, that's the only thing I want to pair my strawberries with. For something different, I did macerate the strawberries with some ahem(!) homegrown mint. Such a small and simple twist, but a huge payback on the flavour front. I recommend you give it a try before the strawberries leave the market!

I know there are a lot of urban farmers out there. Any tips or suggestions that you have, I'd love to hear from you. The weekend's already upon us.. Have a lovely one!!

Greek Salad With A Visit To An Organic Cheese Making Farmstay in Coonoor

Towards the end of May, my family and I managed to get away to the mountains down South, Coonoor and Ooty specifically, for a few days. Ma wanted to go back to her boarding school, fifty years after she passed out from there. The brother-in-law had to attend his 25th School Reunion and my sister, nephew and I were just glad  for an opportunity to escape from the heat. Now, if you've visited any of India's popular hill spots, you know that tourist season is never kind to them. The crowds, traffic, and chaos are enough to make you question the whole point of your trip. Or, you can be like us and choose a farmstay that lets you enjoy the charm of the mountains as it should be.

Across India, farms and homes are opening their doors to travellers who are looking beyond impersonal, standardised hotel accommodation for something a little more informal and with character. For our part, we zeroed in on an organic cheese making farmstay in Coonoor, Acres Wild.

I love the mountains, I really do! It all starts when you leave the heat and dust of the plains behind and drive up the long, winding mountain roads. As you go higher, the temperatures drop, roll down the windows, feel the breeze in your face  and breathe in the crisp, mountain air, barring the occasional blast of diesel fumes from the buses on the way. And in this case, as you approach your destination, the air gets infused with a faint whiff of eucalyptus.

A little travellers tip, do make a midway stop at Burliar and have your fill of exotic fruits, more likely to be seen in South-east Asia,  like mangosteen, rambutans, green peaches, passion fruits and plums that are grown locally in the forests around. Taste the fruits as nature intended them to be and not the insipid, exorbitant variants that you get in Khan Market!

Secluded, at the edge of the property, overlooking the valley and surrounded by the mountains, our cottage was all that we were looking for our stay. There is a steep climb to the dining hall that might find favour with you or not, but will ensure that post-holiday weight gain is not an issue. It is a place where you hear the birds in the morning and you can count the stars at night. Of course, the occasional bus horn and blaring loudspeaker from Coonoor town will remind you that civilisation is never too far away!

Winter Salad of Pears, Blue Cheese and Walnuts

When you first start writing a blog, you are flooded with messages of encouragement and support from friends and family. Everything you bake or photograph is always greeted with superlatives and the kindest words. Then, a few months down the line, some of them started questioning discreetly, "So, do you eat ALL of that you make, at home or is there someone you share it with??". And by now, a few have come right out and proclaimed with a certain incredulity, "I do hope you are NOT eating all that you make!!" If you knew of my challenges with my metabolism, you would agree these are all valid concerns.

 

 

So, for all my concerned friends out there, you will be happy to know that I have made willing or unwilling guinea pigs out of all my friends and family. My unsuspecting neighbours have been particularly targeted!! I restrict myself to a small portion of whatever it is that I have made or baked. I have realised I bake not because I am a foodie, (in fact, I hardly qualify as one) but because it makes me happy watching people enjoy my food. It's as simple as that!!

But, to put your mind at rest, I bring you a salad today!! While salads are usually linked with summer, do remember the excesses of December haven't completely been erased. I found this salad in Nigel Slater's Ripe, fast becoming the book I turn to when I want to know what to do with the fruit of the season.

 

 

The salad works with the classic combination of pears and blue cheese and is further, embellished with toasted walnuts and pomegranate seeds. The salad dressing is a simple combination of vinegar-oil-cream. For the salad leaves, I only had iceberg lettuce to work with. Ideally, I would have preferred to use a combination of salad leaves, with some darker leaves to add to the visual look of this salad.

 

Reading about the salad, you imagine that the flavours of the blue cheese would dominate. But, here is where the delicate pear surprises, as it stands up effortlessly to the cheese. The toasted walnuts with their nuttiness are a welcome addition on the textural front. The pomegranate seeds add a certain jewelled visual to the salad with the dressing being the glue that brings it all together.

 

This salad looks deceptively light and delicate but in fact, has some robust flavours that make it ideal for the season. The salad is so flavoursome that it should be the highlight of your meal. Pair it with something simple like I did, with some chicken sandwiches.